Many prior art water chemistry test kits used for maintaining swimming pools, spas, fountains, water tanks, etc. consist of, among other things, a vial or vials, colored liquid reagents, and color comparison displays or charts. More recently and commonly used in the swimming pool industry and other industries are devices that are sometimes called ‘test blocks,’ in which two vials (typically one vial is used for testing chlorine levels and the other primarily for testing acid levels) are molded vertically together as one single unit, with corresponding colored comparison displays. Some examples of such test blocks are the Guardex 4-in-1 Test Kit (shown generally at http://swimmingpoolproducts.halogensupply.com/viewitems/pool-spa-test-kits-testing-supplies/guardex-4-in-1-pool-test-kits-reagents, although current displays of products on that website may not qualify as prior art with respect to the current inventions) and the Taylor Test Kits (shown generally at http://www.taylortechnologies.com/pool-spa.asp, although current displays of products on that website may not qualify as prior art with respect to the current inventions).
Prior art ‘test blocks’ have been used for several decades, but are the outgrowth of earlier swimming pool reagent test kits that originally were comprised of individual components, such as (a) glass test tube vials, (b) a holder to prevent spilling by keeping test tubes vertical, and (c) separate colored comparison displays. The test tubes typically were narrow vertical transparent cylinders or vials that were closed at the bottom and open at the top, and prior art test blocks include similar vertical test tube/vials of similar design, that have been combined with a base or other element that enable the vials/tubes to be conveniently positioned to be relatively vertical oriented and freestanding.
The relevant prior art test tubes generally have had smooth sides, a single opening that forms a mouth, with the mouth's opening being as wide or wider than the vial's body. The more recent prior art “test blocks” have replicated these “test tube” design features also, although some have vials with a generally rectangular or square cross-section formed by having generally flat elongated vertical sides instead of the rounded sides commonly found on glass test tubes. Additional features on some prior art test blocks are such things as fill lines, chemical names, and other indicia that are either molded into or printed onto the plastic vial(s) or block.
Colored comparison displays are commonly molded into the prior art block(s) adjacent to a corresponding vial (i.e. gradients of yellow plastic next to the chlorine test vial, etc.) and because the tests typically involve a visual evaluation of the color of the tested liquid, having the “color measuring scale” built into the container enables a user to easily compare the water being tested in the vial to the “standard” color display.
Vial caps likewise are commonly provided in prior art systems, to seal the liquids within the vials, and all components (test block, reagent liquids, caps, instructions, etc.) are usually packaged together as a “test kit” in a plastic, chemical resistant container.
Typically, in using a reagent test kit to test water in a swimming pool or other water feature, a user must take the following steps:
1. Submerge the test block several inches below the water's surface (18 inches is recommended to ensure that the sample is representative of the entire pool, rather than just the surface water which may have some local anomalies).
2. Turn the submerged test block so that the vials' openings are pointed upward (this allows air to escape and water to fill the vials).
3. Lift the test block with filled vials out of the water.
4. Adjust the water level in the vial to the fill line marker on the vial (this typically is done by just tipping the unit slightly and then shaking or tapping the test block to pour out enough of the water to drop the level to the desired test volume).
5. Put reagent (chemicals) into the water sample. This is typically done by squeezing a dropper containing colored liquid reagent until a designated number of reagent drops fall into the sample water in the indicated vial(s). For the test to be effective and meaningful, relative proportions of water sample and the reagent must be relatively precise. Prior art devices and systems accomplish this control of proportions by requiring the user to accurately control the volume of the water sample and the number of reagent drops put into that sample (as more thoroughly discussed below).
6. Shake or tap the test block repeatedly to mix the reagent and water thoroughly within the vertical vial (this is done until all the water in the vial has a chance to change color). The properties of the water being tested will determine the resulting color of the mixed reagent/water sample, thereby permitting the user to make the desired visual “measurement” described in the next step.
7. Make a visual comparison between the colored display and the test water in the vial.
Often vials have minor directives or comments or reminders (such as ‘Ideal” or “Add Acid”) to assist a user in determining a proper course of action after completing the water test.
Despite their usefulness, there are several problems associated with prior art test blocks. Some problems occur as a result of the vials being relatively narrow, elongated and vertical. For example, after being submerged, filled with water, and lifted from the pool, lowering the vial's water level to the fill line requires a user to shake, tap, or pour out excess water. This is generally not a very precise operation, and these efforts to get to the “correct” test water volume frequently results in too much water being removed from the vial. When this occurs, the “fill” steps of the process must be done again (otherwise the proportion of water to test chemicals will not be proper), starting with resubmerging the vial into the pool. There is no guarantee that the second attempt to properly fill the vial will be any more successful than the first, and it is not at all uncommon for three or four attempts to be needed in obtaining the correct amount of water in the vial. Such imprecise control and resulting unpredictability not only can be time consuming and inconvenient, but it is further frustrating when the user is in a hurry or must repeatedly dip his/her arm into a pool or other body of water that is exceptionally cold. Having two vials to fill (which is common in many test blocks) multiplies these problems/issues.
Another problem arises when colored reagent drops are added to the test water in the vial. Given the relatively small size of the droppers and vials and the conditions in which the testing is sometimes done (e.g., outdoors, in inclimate weather, etc.), it can be easy to miss or partially miss the narrow mouth of prior art vials or test blocks when dispensing the drops of testing chemicals from the dropper into the vial(s). Among other things, this can result in a user losing count of the number of drops added from the dropper to the vial and, consequently, having to do the test again from the beginning.
Furthermore, drops that successfully land in the vial do not always readily mix with the water in the vial. Even when being tapped or shaken, at least some of the prior art vials are so elongated and narrow that the shape seems to hinder or at least does not readily facilitate moving or stirring the water within them, so a user may need to take the additional step of placing a cap on the vial so that it can be shaken more vigorously (to accomplish the necessary mixing of the chemicals into the water being tested). Vial caps are typically available as part of such prior art systems, but being small and often loosely packaged in the test kit, the caps are easily lost or contaminated. One convenient alternative to such caps is to use one's finger or hand to cover the vial while shaking and mixing the chemical into the water, but that “finger” approach also risks contaminating the water sample or otherwise distorting the proportions of water/reagent, and can therefore result in an inaccurate test reading.
For at least these reasons, the narrow and elongated vertical vials of prior art test blocks have many inconveniences that slow down, interrupt, and even contaminate the water testing process.